Vermont

The city of Burlington, largest in the Green Mountain State, is the only city in the U.S. to provide electricity from entirely renewable sources, notwithstanding criticism from some environmentalists. PBS Newshour Weekend investigates.

February 1, 2015 - PBS NewsHour

Resilient communities build on local strengths to anticipate change, reduce the impact of major events, and come back from a blow stronger than ever. Here are seven ideas from cities and towns working to boost local resilience.

January 15, 2015 - CommunityMatters

A University of Minnesota study published in PNAS looks at alternatives including ethanol and electricity and determined that "it's hard to beat gasoline." Even electric vehicles can do better or worse depending on how utilities source electricity.

December 17, 2014 - AP via ABC News

Electric cars are expected to play a key role in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the country's transportation system. Recent trends around the country indicate increasing adoption of the technology.

October 27, 2014 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

With federal highway funds likely to be cut off in August unless Congress can reach an agreement on a stopgap solution, some states, e.g., MO, VT, GA, AR have taken matters into their own hands to ensure that vital construction projects continue.

June 13, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Governor Peter Shumlin approved the largest transportation bill in Vermont history earlier this week. So what does the money go to?

June 4, 2014 - Office of Governor Peter Shumlin

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin based his entire State of the State speech this year on the state’s “full-blown heroin crisis.” The crisis has obvious impacts on neighborhoods, but did land use policy contribute to the problem?

March 1, 2014 - The New York Times

In an illustrated essay, Chuck Wolfe contrasts the ideal form of the New England town with an abandoned French village, calling out the human infrastructure essential to successful urban places.

October 8, 2013 - myurbanist

According to a new report from Climate Central, your EV is only as clean as the power plant used to generate the electricity it runs on. Furthermore, due to the huge carbon cost of batteries, a hybrid may be more climate-friendly than a plug-in.

August 15, 2013 - The Seattle Times

The D.C. Council is going the way of neighbors Virginia and Maryland by approving new wholesale sales taxes on gasoline and diesel. In it's budget approved on May 22, the council swapped the current 23.5-cent excise tax for a new 8.3% fuel tax.

May 30, 2013 - The Washington Post - D.C. Politics

Vermont became the third state this year to legislatively increase its gas tax when Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the bill on April 29 that raises the gas tax by 5.9-cents and the diesel tax by 2-cents on July 1 and 1-cent next year.

May 1, 2013 - BurlingtonFreePress.com

Now that Maryland has joined Wyoming in increasing its gas tax, who's next? Gas tax legislation in New Hampshire and Vermont have advanced to their Senates where going is rough, and a new, "two-cent a year for a decade" bill is proposed for Nevada.

April 10, 2013 - The Washington Post

Fox News ran two articles on the climate for increasing state gas taxes, almost exactly a year apart. The 2012 article is pessimistic about the ability to increase gas taxes while the March 14th one is decidedly upbeat. Why the change, what happened?

March 20, 2013 - Fox Business

Wyoming has gone where few states have gone recently - defied conventional wisdom that the 'gas tax is dead' and shown that it is very much alive with the Senate increasing the state excise tax by 71% (10-cents). Gov. Matt Mead is expected to sign.

February 17, 2013 - Casper Star-Tribune

States with Amtrak routes less than 750 miles (excludes lines within Northeast Corridor) will need to subsidize the budget shortfalls - the difference between fares and operating costs, or lose the route. States may cut some lines to prop-up others.

January 30, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Modern medicine is prolonging our lives while our lifestyles are shortening it - that paradox is the main finding of the 2012 America's Health Rankings that ranked Vermont as the nation's healthiest state with Louisiana and Mississippi tied for last.

December 13, 2012 - USA Today

Benjamin Brownell finds that innovative technology and farming work well together at a FarmHack event in Vermont.

June 12, 2012 - Shareable

Chain store opponents in Vermont battle to preserve the uniqueness of their small towns by pushing against a planned Dollar General Store. While a review board narrowly approved a plan, it also attached a lengthy list of restrictions.

May 14, 2012 - The New York Times

While the photos of the flooded towns in New England captivated our attention, it is the devastation to the roads and bridges that has become the priority in the rebuilding effort - as they must be repaired or replaced to allow relief and rebuilding.

September 5, 2011 - The New York Times - U.S.

A Vermont couple is challenging the decision of a state zoning commission that limits their right to illuminate a 24 foot cross on their own property to several weeks around Christmas.

February 7, 2011 - BurlingtonFreePress.com